Self-Defense for Teachers? How One Man Plans to Fight Gun Violence in Schools

Written by Your 5News Team

Last updated on January 20, 2013 @ 1:18PM

Created on January 19, 2013 @ 8:02PM

In light of the increase in public shootings, like the one in Newtown, there's been talk about armed guards and teachers in schools to protect their students. But we found one man who has a different plan to curb the violence.

"My goal is to go around to all the schools, train the teachers how to defend themselves in real life situations where somebody comes to the school with a gun or a knife," said Nick Pasquale, State Director of the Krav Maga International Federation.

This Krav Maga Master says the first thing coming through the door of a classroom would be a weapon, and he could show teachers how to stand by the door and get the weapon away from the would-be attacker.

Krav Maga is an Israeli form of self-defense and grew to popularity after WWII.

"We teach so there are no rules. The bad guy doesn't have rules. So, we teach how to survive and fight without any rules, " said Pasquale.

He does this by showing you how to use natural body movements to protect yourself against real life situations like rape, home invasions, and robberies.

He says unlike other forms of Martial Arts, anyone can do this and you don't have to spend years perfecting fancy kicks and punches.

"We say it's from seven years-old to seventy years old, and it's designed for the individual."

Pasquel earned a Purple Heart form his time in the military and is now the only licensed person in West Virginia to teach Krav Maga. However, he has assistants. One of which has years of training in law enforcement and other martial arts forms, but says this is by far, the best for of self-defense.

"They say if you're not kicking someone in the groin, it's not Krav Maga," said Andrew Colombo, an assistant instructor.

And it's the kick to the groin move that make it especially effective for women.

"I think it could be very beneficial. I travel a lot alone for work. It's good to have some sort of defense mechanism that if someone was to attack you, you would have a way to protect yourself," said Crystal Gainer, a Krav Maga student.

Pasquale will be holding a seminar for teachers at Lincoln High School on the 24th at 1:30 p.m.

Interesting to note, is that it takes 3,600 times of repeating a movement before it becomes a quick reflex. So, that means you'll have to take a few classes if you want to get to that point. You can click here to visit the Krav Maga website for more information on classes. You can also call 304-694-0963.

Share

Add your Comment

You must have an active WDTV.COM user account to post comments. Please login to your account, or create your free account today!